Georgia
Kirby Smart rips CFP committee after Georgia's 31-17 thrashing of Tennessee: 'I don’t know what they’re looking for'
ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart may enjoy the College Football Playoff, but it’s safe to say he isn’t a fan of the College Football Playoff committee. On two separate occasions after Saturday’s crucial 31-17 victory over Tennessee, Smart took a moment to castigate the committee’s decisionmaking and question its football acumen.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for. I really don’t,” said Smart, whose team was ranked 12th but effectively locked out of the playoffs after last week’s loss to Ole Miss. “I wish they could really define the criteria. I wish they could do the eyeball test where they come down here and look at the people we’re playing against and look at them.You can’t see that stuff on a TV.”
What the committee would have seen had they been at Sanford Stadium—and what 93,033 in the stands saw live—was a Georgia team that’s capable of healing itself on the fly, both in the middle of the season and in the middle of a game. If Wolverine wasn’t already aligned with another university, the Dawgs could claim him as an avatar.
“They’re not in that [in-game] environment,” Smart said in a press conference beneath the bleachers, as delirious Georgia fans celebrated outside. “They’re not at Ole Miss in that environment, playing against that defense, which is top five in the country … They don’t know that, they don’t understand that.”
“Their offense hasn’t been consistent, the committee discussed that, they’ve struggled with some turnovers,” CFP chairman Warde Manuel said last Tuesday in announcing the latest rankings. “Defense has been solid, although in the loss to Ole Miss, we felt that (inconsistent offense) plays a factor … with the offense struggling, their defense was on the field quite a bit.”
You can’t throw out red meat like that and expect Smart not to snap at it. “They’ll probably look at this week and say we just played against one of the best defenses in the country, and we put up 453 (yards of offense), and could have been more,” he said. “It’s just the tale of each week, and we’re trying to be the cumulative, whole, good quality team, and not be on this emotional rollercoaster that’s controlled by people in a room somewhere that may not understand football like we do as coaches.”
Whew. Got all that? Thing is, Smart has every reason to be sore—and every reason to believe that his team is absolutely one of the best in the country, regardless of what arbitrary week-to-week rankings say. Georgia smothered Tennessee, holding the Vols scoreless in the second half and containing the Vols in a way no other team has managed this year.
Assuming no further hiccups, two losses and their current trajectories ought to be enough for both Georgia and Tennessee to make the playoffs. Both teams are 8-2 overall, but the Bulldogs are finished with SEC play at 6-2, while UT falls to 5-2 in league with a game at Vanderbilt still to come.
The Georgia-Tennessee rivalry may not have the juice of, say, Georgia-Auburn or Tennessee-Alabama, but it’s fast becoming a matchup of heavyweights. Four of the last five games have featured both teams ranked in the top 20, and Saturday night was, in many ways, a playoff play-in. At stake: a potential SEC championship berth for Tennessee, a likely playoff berth for Georgia.
Early on, Georgia punter Brett Thorson — the only Bulldog who came out of the gate strong — unintentionally set the early mood for Georgia in the first half. The Dawgs had gone three-and-out on their opening series, Thorson punted the ball away, and a Tennessee player knocked him to the ground. Flags flew, and Thorson lay on his back, gloating, expecting a roughing-the-punter call that would give Georgia a fresh set of downs.
It wasn’t to be. The officials picked up the flags, ruling that the Tennessee player had been blocked into Thorson. And Tennessee would proceed to score a touchdown on its ensuing drive to take a 7-0 lead.
It was a pretty stark message: If Georgia wanted a victory over an initially feisty Vols team Saturday night, the Dawgs would have to earn it.
The status of each team’s starting quarterback dominated pregame talk. Would Nico Iamaleava be available after undergoing a reported concussion protocol? Would Carson Beck continue his slide from his Heisman Trophy candidacy into interception-slinging irrelevance?
The first half answered both questions fairly effectively. Iamaleava got the start and led the Vols on touchdown drives of 78 and 75 yards, with a field goal in between. Beck, meanwhile, came out firing, throwing 29 first-half passes. Sure, many of those passes flew high or wide, but that’s better than into enemy hands, right? Beck connected with tight end Oscar Delp — also known as Brock Bowers 2.0 — for two touchdowns and drove the Dawgs to a late first-half field goal.
Halfway home, the game was tied at 17, with no clear edge for either side.
Georgia struck first in the second half, with a very un-Carson Beck-like drive from Beck consuming 7:22 and covering 87 yards over 12 plays. Beck, who’s spent the last few weeks as the target of Georgia fans’ rage, appeared as composed and centered as he has all season on the drive, finding open men, eluding the Tennessee rush and guiding Georgia with a confidence he hadn’t shown in weeks. He took the ball into the end zone himself on the drive’s final play, scooting 10 yards to put Georgia ahead 24-17.
Tennessee’s offense, so reliable in the first half, sputtered and staggered in the second, punting on three consecutive possessions. Following a 2-yard touchdown run by Nate Frazier that gave the Bulldogs a 31-17 lead, Tennessee took over with 2:26 remaining in regulation but turned it over on downs with an Iamaleava fumble. The Vols’ offense was held lifeless for the final 30 minutes.
The final line on Beck: 347 yards on 25-of-40 attempts, with two touchdowns, plus 32 yards and a touchdown on the ground. After a week in which the outside world ripped Beck and the Georgia offense, it was some sweet redemption.
“Those guys, they took a lot of criticism from people, and really unwarranted, in my opinion,” Smart said.”’Cause it’s funny, when you talk to people that actually know football, they know how hard it is to play in that [SEC] environment.”
It’s a theme Smart has struck repeatedly this year: The SEC is a crucible. Every week is a battle. Losses here aren’t the same as losses elsewhere. It’s PR spin, sure, but it’s also got the ring of truth, especially when you see what a team like Georgia is capable of doing when everything is humming.
Georgia will rise in the next set of CFP rankings, but probably not high enough for Smart’s liking. Unless and until the committee comes and watches him play in person, he’s going to hold onto that grudge.
“I respect their decision. respect their opinion. But, I mean, it’s different in our league,” Smart said, and then added one little twist. “So … go Dawgs.”
And with that, he was gone, statement made.
Not everyone can get home for Thanksgiving, but Georgia Tech is making sure every student has a place to spend the holiday.
Through the university’s growing “Home for the Holidays” program, faculty and staff volunteer to host students who remain in Atlanta during the long weekend. For many, it has become a new and meaningful tradition that bridges cultures, generations, and the campus community in a uniquely Georgia Tech way.
This year, Vice President for External Communications Blair Meeks and his family welcomed a group of students into their Decatur home for their first time participating in the program.
“There’s just so much fun and joy and love,” Meeks said. “It’s a really special time, and the chance for us to share this moment with students is fantastic.”
A family tradition turns into a community celebration
The Meeks family says Thanksgiving has always been their favorite holiday. Now, they’re sharing it — down to the smallest details — with their Yellow Jacket guests. Nine-year-old Tyson Meeks even hand-crafted labels for every dish on the table.
“I’m really thankful for them,” he said. “I would love hosting other people at my house.”
When students began arriving — some from right down the road, others from across the world — the family welcomed them with open arms.
“Welcome! Come on in!” host Shirrell Meeks told each student at the door.
Students shared that the gesture made Atlanta feel a little more like home.
For international students, a first taste of Thanksgiving
For Elena Zhang, an Australian student experiencing her first American Thanksgiving, the day was not just about the food but about connection.
“I was curious to see what a normal Thanksgiving lunch would look like and just meet a few new people,” Zhang said.
Christina Tran, who admits she’s usually nervous meeting new people, said the program pushed her out of her comfort zone in the best way.
“There are just so many nice people,” she said. “I’m so happy I applied.”
For Alex Canedo, this wasn’t his first time; he returned for a second straight year.
“A lot of my friends at other schools don’t have anything like this,” Canedo said. “It’s nice to stay in Atlanta and have a place to go.”
Students told CBS Atlanta they hope other universities begin similar programs – especially for those who can’t travel or don’t have family nearby – because it makes the holidays feel a little more like home.
Thursday morning weather forecast
Thanksgiving morning is off to a cold and blustery start across North Georgia, with wind chills dipping into the 30s and breezy conditions expected through the afternoon. Despite full sunshine, temperatures will struggle to climb out of the low 50s.
ATLANTA – Thanksgiving morning is off to a cold and blustery start across North Georgia, with wind chills dipping into the 30s and breezy conditions expected through the afternoon. Despite full sunshine, temperatures will struggle to climb out of the low 50s — and even then, it won’t feel that warm thanks to persistent northwest winds.
How it’s starting:
At 6 a.m., Atlanta was at 39 degrees with a north-northwest wind near 14 mph, enough to lower the wind chill and make conditions feel several degrees colder. The combination of dry air and gusty winds will continue throughout the day, creating an elevated fire risk and making outdoor burning unsafe.
Across the region, wind chills early Thursday ranged from the upper 20s to low 30s. Carrollton and Blairsville both reported “feels-like” temperatures in the 20s, while Thomaston saw wind chills around 29 degrees. Gusts of 20 to 25 mph are possible through the afternoon before gradually easing on Friday.
Thanksgiving Thursday
☀️ Sunny, breezy, cold
High: 50–52°
Feels like: 40s (wind chills in 30s through late morning)
Wind: NW 15–25 mph
Fire risk: Elevated — avoid outdoor burning
Tonight
🌙 Clear and cold
Low: 28–33°
Breezy early, winds tapering overnight
Friday (Black Friday)
☀️ Sunny, cold start, lighter winds
High: 52–55°
Low: upper 20s to low 30s
Saturday
⛅ Dry during the day; clouds increase
High: 55–58°
🌧️ Light showers possible late night
Sunday
🌧️ Scattered showers; major national travel impacts
High: 58–60°
Early next week
🌦️ More rain chances Monday night and Tuesday
Beneficial rainfall expected
What is coming:
Clear skies tonight will allow temperatures to drop again, setting up an even colder start to Black Friday. The calm conditions ahead of the weekend could break late Saturday night as a large, far-reaching storm system moves across the country. Most of Saturday remains dry, but light showers may begin after dark. The system is expected to bring significant travel impacts nationwide on Sunday, though rainfall amounts in Georgia will be limited.
Additional rain chances arrive Monday night and Tuesday, with higher rainfall totals expected early next week.
Nov. 26 (UPI) — The prosecutor in the Georgia election interference case against President Donald Trump dropped the charges on Wednesday.
Pete Skandalakis, executive director of Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council, who took over the case when Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis was disqualified, filed a motion Wednesday saying that he’s dropping the case “to serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality”
“[The case] is on life support and the decision what to do with it falls on me and me alone. But unlike family members who must make the emotional decision to withdraw loved ones from life-sustaining treatment, I have no emotional connection to this case. As a former elected official who ran as both a Democrat and a Republican and now is the Executive Director of a non-partisan agency, this decision is not guided by a desire to advance an agenda but is based on my beliefs and understanding of the law,” he wrote.
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to a racketeering indictment in their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Willis brought the charges after a phone call from Trump to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” the votes needed to give the state’s electoral votes to Trump.
Skandalakis addressed the call to Raffensperger in his motion.
“While the call is concerning, reasonable minds could differ as to how to interpret the call. One interpretation is that President Donald J. Trump, without explicitly stating it, is instructing the Secretary of State to fictitiously or fraudulently produce enough votes to secure a victory in Georgia. An alternative interpretation is that President Donald J. Trump, genuinely believing fraud had occurred, is asking the Secretary of State to investigate and determine whether sufficient irregularities exist to change the election outcome. When multiple interpretations are equally plausible, the accused is entitled to the benefit of the doubt and should not be presumed to have acted criminally.”
Willis was eventually disqualified because of a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor on the case. After she was disqualified, Skandalakis was tasked with finding another prosecutor to handle the case. When none was found, on Nov. 14 he took on the case himself.
Some defendants in the case — Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro and Scott Hall — took plea deals after agreeing to testify. Trump later gave them all federal pardons.
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